Being Bullied? Start Here
Welcome.
To help you get started, read the material below to make a difference in your health and your life. This website is for you and for supportive or skeptical family and friends. You will find answers to your many questions. Take your time reading through it. Dealing with emotional abuse triggers strong emotions. It's normal. Return as many times as it takes you to cover all the sections.
Though this site has a blog, there is a substantial amount of information on 'static' pages. Access those pages from the drop-down menus activated as you mouse over the tabs labeled: Impact, Solutions, Blog & YouTube, Research, Learning, Training, HWB & Freedom Week. And on many pages, such as this one, there is an additional menu of articles and thought pieces on the left of the page. There is much written here at the site. We have 200 videos at our YouTube channel. We've written two books linked to sale sites. We produced self-help DVDs for bullied individuals and for mental health counselors of targets, and HR. There are several free webinars and podcasts, too. We work with unions and employers. Here's another navigation tip: many sections of this site and our other sites can be accessed through the footer of all of pages. Scroll down.
Please know two things:
- You are not alone
- You did not cause bullying to happen
Bullying is a systematic campaign of interpersonal destruction that jeopardizes your health, your career, the job you once loved. Bullying is a non-physical, non-homicidal form of violence and, because it is violence and abusive, emotional harm frequently results. You may not be the first person to have noticed that you were bullied. Check to see how many of these indicators match yours.
Remember, you did not cause bullying to happen. We've broken down the major reasons why bullies bully. The primary reason bullying occurs so frequently in workplaces is that bullying is not yet illegal. Bullying is four times more common than either sexual harassment or racial discrimination on the job.
WBI conducts regular national scientific surveys of the prevalence of workplace bullying in the U.S. The next survey results will be reported in 2017. The most recent was in 2014. You certainly are not alone.. WBI also conducts smaller surveys on just about every topic of interest to targets. You are the ones who inform us about your experiences. See the list of study results over the years.
If you need to see a mental health counselor, we have advice. If you think you want to pursue legal action, listen to a successful plaintiff's advice first, then read our tips for finding the right attorney.
Should you confront the bully? If you could have, you would have. Don't beat yourself up for not having done so. Instead, follow WBI's suggested Action Steps. Remember, put your health first. Don't believe the lies told about you. Spend time with loved ones and friends. At times of debilitating stress like this, you must not be isolated. Isolation will only make the stress worse.
As we said, to date, no U.S. state has passed an anti-bullying law for the workplace. You can follow progress on the legislative front at the WBI Healthy Workplace Bill website. Without laws, employers can ignore the problem. But there is much employers can do.
Cautionary note: We have put a lot of material here at this website so bullied targets and their families can better understand what has happened to them and what could be done. If you found us early in your bullying, during an especially cruel and acute phase, simply reading about bullying can trigger strong negative emotions. This is normal. Please stop reading and come back later to dig back into the resources here for you. Take your time. It will get easier to digest as you get away from the start of the psychological assaults to which you have been subjected.
Be safe. Make your personal health your priority.
There will be an urge to jump on the telephone to share your story with, to seek immediate advice. We no longer have staff to take those calls. So, if you are a bullied target, consider speaking with Jessi, the WBI Coach. Her low-fee services will answer your questions.
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